Do you think that Mr. Cee, given his name, would naturally be drawn to a theme where a letter sound is played upon? Well, perhaps. In any case, today trots out five phrases where the last sound is a version of the letter K. Or just is the letter K in one case.
I figured out what was going on when I had TOOTHDECAY and COMMUNIQUE in place. I was then a little disappointed in SOBRIQUET. Yes, it's spelled differently from the other French export, but really it's the same game.
MURRAYTHEK was a very odd answer. I had never heard of this gentleman before, born Murray Kaufman. Apparently he was an early adopter when it came to The Beatles, and they liked him so much George Harrison called him the "fifth Beatle." Nice to get some trivia, certainly, but the chutzpah of that unadorned K is shocking.
Well, maybe not shocking. That's a strong term. But in crossword blogging! I stand by it.
So readers of this blog may know that I'm not a fan of puzzles where sections are nearly completely cut off. And we get two here in the NW and SE corners. Fortunately they're large sections, so there were many ways to get toeholds inside of them. But I much prefer more flow.
On the positive side, 2D is right up my alley, synaptic gaps and all. I can do without TAPIOCA, although I know some around here have been known to take one. 44D: Non-prophet foundation? (ATHEISM), on the other hand, fits me to a T.
I didn't love the fill (SAK, SEN, OYS, ERN) but the theme was interesting, 'K?
- Colum
Chutzpah indeed! And truly shocking. Disgraceful even. In other words, yes I had a Finished With One Error on MURRAYTHEc/SAc.
ReplyDeleteI'm a fan of TAPIOCA. Certainly as a food, and, well, as a crossword answer too. Although I would have to admire the cluing of ATHEISM, that's probably the high point.
9:02
ReplyDeleteI didn't know the theme until reading Colum's review, and also have never heard of MURRAYTHEK, but had no trouble with the crosses. TOOTHDECAY crossing TAPIOCA is mildly amusing (I, too, enjoy a nice TAPIOCA, but make sure to take care of my oral health following any meal). ELECTORS was nice, but I didn't care for the quotes. Hear! hear! on ATHEISM.
6:59 (FWOE) (paper)
ReplyDeleteI had the same error as "Jimmy the K," and if it weren't for the theme, I might never have found it! I was a pretty big Beatles fan in my youth, but I don't remember ever coming across that name.
Gotta give another shout out to ATHEISM, and I also liked TRESTLE, BEQUEST, EMULATE, NEURONS, and that delicious, delicious TAPIOCA. Mmmm.....
threw in the towel at 30:33 with four or five blank squares. Obviously, I lacked the high-Q to know about sobriquets or Mr. Thek, or the alternative spelling of the word, sac or sack. I also didn't know about those flower clusters, although I am quite familiar with racemic mixtures of enantiomers. I don't mind OD-ing on these puzzles or this blog while on vacation in Worcester, although I seem to have missed this winter's icicles. I must admit that I enjoyed the two compass direction challenges in this puzzle, despite their easiness, and I always enjoy memories of Louis Gossett watching Richard Gere (Mayo...naise!) doing pushups in the rain.
ReplyDelete